Team Lake Trust loves to be out and about in our communities, meeting with people and doing our best to help friends and neighbors. 

All across the organization, our team has a passion for volunteering — whether it's at community events, with Komen Mid-Michigan, Food Gatherers, etc.

Recently, part of our team in Jenison visited The Renucci House° in Grand Rapids, a place made for families of those enduring hospital stays, to help make them feel comfortable.

There, Team Lake Trust cooked meals and listened to patron's stories. It was amazing to be there for these members of our communities, to support and encourage.

Find out more about oportunities to help and the Lake Trust Credit Union Foundation. 

We're celebrating the Grand Opening of our newly relocated Auburn Hills branch, located at 2550 N. Squirrel Rd. Stop by Friday and say 'hi' to our team and for refreshments. Plus, enter our daily drawing for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

Our new location will serve our members well, as it is nicely positioned in the busy storefront area of the Auburn Square Shopping Center, across from Oakland University. This location will also create a new experience for our members as our  team here is cross-trained in many specialty areas, creating more of a retail feel to the new location.

“The new model will serve members in a non-traditional, open banking environment kind of way,” said Terri Guastella, Lake Trust Project Coordinator. “It’s a great location to house this pilot right across from the university. We’ll get a chance to see just how well it plays out with many different segments of our membership.”

To prepare for this new experience, our Auburn Hills team took on weekend and early morning training and team-building sessions. Branch staff and our Leadership Teams worked side-by-side to learn to serve members in a non-traditional way. We're thrilled with the results, and excited to showcase the branch during this week.

“Our new branch brings a more significant presence in the area,” said Kimberly Oblak, Lake Trust Assistant Vice President of Retail Sales and Service.  “It’s much more accessible for our members. We really hope everyone will enjoy our new location as much as we enjoy being a part of this community.”

Stop in to visit us – we look forward to seeing you! 

“This sweepstakes is one of the many great opportunities that credit unions take on to help make a difference in our members’ lives,” said Lake Trust Regional Branch Manager, Lori Trainor. “We continue to focus on bringing value to our members through great products and services and our Mt. Pleasant team is so excited to have our local member win this sweepstakes.”

Darrin, who was entered into the sweepstakes simply by using his Lake Trust MasterCard Debit Card in November or December of 2012, and his wife are very excited about the trip and their relationship with Lake Trust and the Mt. Pleasant staff.

"My wife and I couldn’t be happier with Lake Trust Credit Union,” said Lake Trust Member, Darrin D. “Every time we visit, the service is extremely quick, and the staff is friendly, personable, and knowledgeable.  I haven’t had a better banking experience than at Lake Trust."

Congratulations, Darrin – we hope you have a great time and are looking forward to hearing about your trip! 

As a community-based organization, we started our Foundation to enhance our core value of making a difference in our neighborhoods through sponsorships, scholarships, grants and Team Lake Trust. 

“Through our Foundation we’re looking to engage like-minded partners and individuals who want to create strong, diverse, vibrant neighborhoods,” said Lake Trust Director of Corporate Responsibility, Keith Koppmeier. “Our passion is in giving to the community, and this is a great opportunity for us to work together to support the people who give so much to us.”

We're excited to see the Foundation come to life and the positive impacts it will have on Michigan communities.

“Our entire organization is devoted and passionate about building a stronger Michigan with our Foundation,” said Lake Trust Credit Union President and CEO David Snodgrass. “We’re all on board. We know that our success comes from our neighbors and the Foundation will help us to unify and solidify our commitment to our communities.”

To find out more about our Foundation and how you can participate, visit us online. 

We've chosen the Project Management Firm to remodel our new branch, which will be located at 2550 N. Squirrel Rd. in Auburn HIlls, in the busy storefront area of the Auburn Square shopping Center, across from Oakland University.

The branch will create a new experience for members. With our team specializing in service and cross-trained in may specialty areas, we'll have more of a retail feel at our new location.

"The new model will serve members in a much different way," said Terri Guastella, Lake Trust Project Coordinator. "It's a great location to house this pilot, right across from the university; we'll get a chance to see just how well it plays out with many differents segments of our membership. 

We're looking forward to working with Contracting Resources Inc., who also managed the renovation of our new Center Line location, this past February.

Visit laketrust.org for a full list of our 21 branch locations. 

Our Soon-to-Be Relocated Auburn Hills Branch

“Everyone at Lake Trust Credit Union is dedicated to making a difference in the many communities, from Lake-to-Lake, we serve,” says Lake Trust President and CEO David Snodgrass.  “We would like to thank our members and community partners for their overwhelming support.” 

Food collected during our Food Drive was distributed to our local charitable food distribution partners: The Greater Lansing Food Bank, Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank, Food Gatherers, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and Isabella Community Soup Kitchen. In addition, Two Men and a Truck and FireKeepers Casino Hotel were invaluable partners in this community effort.

“We are so grateful for all the food and monetary donations that we received,” says David.  “Our joint efforts will make a big difference in the lives of many in our communities, who may not have otherwise been able to enjoy a nice holiday meal.”

Thanks to everyone who helped to make a difference in the lives of so many in Michigan this holiday season! 

Check out our photos from the day, on Facebook.

Help us to spread the word about hunger in our communities and our November 16 Lake-to-Lake Food Drive!

We're collecting 1,000 lbs of food, (totalling 21,000 lbs!) at each of our 21 branch locations  to help make a difference for those in need in our communities throughout Michigan.

Help us to spread the word, #PassThePeas: Send this tweet to one of your friends on Twitter: 

1/10 people in Michigan use food banks. Lake-to-Lake Food Drive http://bit.ly/TiEyn8 Help Spread the word: #PassThePeas

If you aren't able to visit our branch, visit your local food bank, and tweet us a photo of where you visited, so we can see how far this message reaches. Plus, join the event on Facebook. Stay tuned to our pages for more! 

Please help spread the word; we can make a difference! 

Sincerely, 

Team Lake Trust 

*Our sincerest gratitude to our Food Bank partners, Greater Lansing Food Bank, West Michigan Food Bank, Food Gatherers, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, and Feeding America for your help and for all you do for our community! 

In ancient Rome, a chariot of triumph in war was known as a "car". While we don't expect today's cars to survive the field of battle, a road trip is the true test of today's automobile. Construction barrels, long distances, and rocky roads are just a few of the things you may encounter on your extended excursion. 

Today, I'll try to prep you and your four wheeled companion as best I can for a long road trip, without breaking the bank (or preferably Credit Union.)

1. Clean it – I know I referenced this before in an earlier post, but get rid of any unnecessary clutter in your car. While I can appreciate how nice it must be to have an extra storage closet that travels with you, the open road will show you that space is at a premium. Not to mention excess weight will hurt gas mileage.

2. Check your insurance policy. Many companies provide a brief overview of your coverage online. A key service you'll want to know how to use is roadside assistance. Make sure you have the correct contact numbers in the event of a roadside disaster. Service not available on your policy, then you better invest in a…

3. Emergency Car Kit – This is essential. Many new automobiles come equipped with this item. If not, check out a store near you. Many retailers have basic kits staring at $30. 

4. Inflate your tires – Inflating your tires can improve your gas mileage up to 3.3%. Over a long trip, that can add up to a lot of $$ saved. Your recommended air pressure (PSI) can be found on your actual tire (usually between 30-32).

5. Oil Change. Take care of this before you leave. Nothing worse than having to waste time out of your vacation day to find a service center that is open. Often times, mechanics will find potential problems here, before you hit the road. This could save you some stress and a long tow truck home.

6. Use Cruise Control – Consistency helps gas mileage. Enough said.

These six tips will be much appreciated by your automobile. I'll leave you with a quote.

If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend - Doug Larson 

CU Lunch Local is a Michigan-wide initiative, for Credit Unions to support local with kind of a 'cash mob' for local businesses. Credit Unions all over Michigan have big plans to show their support by buying locally their coffee, lunch, dinner, ice cream or anything else from a local business on this day. 

This day is brought to us by Michigan CU Capital who knows that Credit Unions big and small are working together for a better future for thier communities and the great state of Michigan, the state that we all live and work in every day.

Team Lake Trust has upwards of 100 teammates participating in this day. We are going out to support locally in Lansing, Brighton, Plymouth, Howell and in many of our branch communities. 

If you want to take the extra step to show your community support on this day – it can be at any local restaurant or store – with a large group, individually, with your normal lunch crew, just for your morning coffee or donut, shopping during your mid-day errands, or however you choose.

Team Lake Trust is proud of our communities and to support local businesses on this day and every day. Spending locally means helping the local economy. Local businesses are the livelihood of a community, they help to create and maintain a local identity and a sense of community; we're excited to support the people who live and work in our communities every day. Additionally, we have loved to see all of the excitement, spirit and involvement from Credit Unions all over the state.

We're so happy to be part of this day. We can't wait to see all of the support tomorrow! 

Check out #CULunchLocal on Twitter.